Elite Test Cricket Moves Closer to Night Play After ICC Approval

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Cricket’s traditional form of
international competition moved a step closer to prime-time play
after the sport’s governing body said participating nations may
now agree to stage day/night Test matches.

The International Cricket Council said yesterday that the
home and visiting cricket boards will be able to decide on the
timing of the six hours of scheduled play and the precise brand,
type and color of ball used in the five-day matches.

Cricket Australia welcomed the move today, saying a later
start may boost attendance and television audiences for Tests,
at least three days of which typically take place on weekdays
and outside prime-time TV slots.

“We limit ourselves by staging cricket’s premium format at
times when fans often cannot watch,” Cricket Australia Chief
Executive Officer James Sutherland said in a statement. “CA has
a formal strategic plan that demands that Australian cricket
puts fans first and we will now add day/night Tests to the
agenda when we talk to other Test nations about their future
tours down under.”

Finding a suitable ball remains an obstacle to day/night
Tests becoming a reality. Cricket authorities require a ball
that can be seen against the night sky and the format’s white
clothing, while also resisting moisture from dew.

The traditional red ball is not as visible under lights as
it is in the day, while the white ball used in one-day
internationals doesn’t have the necessary durability for Test
matches. Pink, orange and yellow balls have been trialled to
varying degree and experiments have seen “some promising
developments in recent times,” Cricket Australia said.

Australia trialled colored balls in its leading domestic
competitions in the 1990s, abandoning the concept because the
yellow and orange balls would lose color and demonstrate extreme
swing when affected by evening dew.

“Finding a Test ball that is as easily visible in the day
as it is at night is still a technical work in progress that the
ICC is now leading and it has not yet been possible to predict
when such a ball might be available,” Sutherland added.